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House of Hallways

Varda was quite exhausted! The trip through the odd house had been very taxing already, but when he had to make a quick trip back to the little town with a Glaceon on his back... Well, it certainly had been something, alright! Luckily he didn't have to carry his friend back, as they had been lucky and there was a Pokémon who could deal with their injuries for a small compensation, so they could just rush to the spooky weird house as soon as their legs – and wings – allowed them to! They had lost some valuable time doing this, but the bird believed he had done the right decision on his own, without Sova's help...

The house felt strange this time. They had been through such strange rooms on their first visit, but now the door they took sent them to an odd, extremely long hallway. It was rather narrow compared to many rooms they had seen before, but the hallway was wide enough to let a couple of Pokémon to walk side by side. There were no doors the bird could see, there hadn't been any doors for a while since the last one they took. As usual, there were various candles on the walls lighting up the gloomy house, some dark spots left behind by the dim lighting. The floorboards creaked under the pair of Pokémon and the old wallpaper was ripped in many places, revealing old wooden panels.

S.S. stared at the charmeleon, his smile slowly fading as he listened. His face became one of displeasure and boredom at the response. Jak seemed to think he had control over this situation. "You're brave to talk back to me...." the glaceon spoke quietly as he began circling the charmeleon.He took slow, silent steps, and stared ominously as he circled the Fire-type. Oh, what to do about this little case of disrespect?

"Sova's told you a lot. He must like you. I should reward you for that. But oh, how? I see you're not currently bleeding enough.... I could fix that for you. Maybe remove a few of those pesky limbs? Open your neck up for some fresh air?" he spoke ominously before coming to a stop in front of the charmeleon.His displeased look persisted as he stared. "Sadly, I can't do that, and you know I can't," he continued, his icy armor completely melting away in the process.

Before giving Jak a chance to respond, his smile crept back and a sudden burst of wind slammed the charmeleon into his side and over his back, taking the lizard's breath away. "So I'll make sure to treat you real nice," he finished, then adjusted the charmeleon on his back a bit before setting off.Carrying Jak was easy, as there wasn't much of a weight difference between the two and the glaceon was rather strong.

S.S. carried Jak over to the half-dead birdcicle rather calmly, too calmly.... or at least, in his eyes. So, when he was just nearing Varda, he suddenly bolted forward and halted almost immediately after, throwing Jak off his back and into the snow that was still present. "Woops," he spoke in a tone of mock-innocence, raising his injured paw and giving a shrug.It was his injured paw he'd raised, and it was then that he took note of the bandage wrapped around the leg. He stared at the bandage with a "wtf" kind of look in disbelief that Sova would wear something so humiliating. Oh well, he didn't really care much about it, so he just left it there.

Jak 19

Others

After Jak had basically spoke his mind about not being able to move, along with his comment about upsetting sova. Jak watched the ice type stop and slowly make its way back to him. It spoke in a quiet tone as it circled him, stating he was brave for speaking back at him. The fire type was not sure what it intended to do, but the situation was starting to look bad. The worst part being the fact he wasn’t going to be able to defend himself.

Jak listened as the glaceon started to speak again, stating that sova had told him a lot. The demented ice type stated that he should be rewarded for it, and what better way to do so than to fix the issues that Jak had that S.S didn’t like. The ice type gave various suggestions before finally admitting that he couldn’t do it, also stating that Jak knew he can’t. This seemed to give Jak some relief as the ice armor melted away.

Just before Jak was able to respond, a huge burst of icy wind slammed into him, forcing him to slam into the ice type. The wind quickly being knocked out of him as this happened. There was very little he could do now but wait to be dropped off next to Varda… if that was where this demented thing was going to take him.

As the glaceon had started to move towards the birdcicle. He made a comment stating he would treat him real nice. As from what Jak had saw so far, this wasn’t something that was going to be nice for him… no it wasn’t. The ice type suddenly dashed forward a few more meters from the bird and stopped, tossing Jak off him into the snow next to Varda. Jak flipped forward as he landed in the snow.

Jak remained there motionless for a moment. Despite landing in snow, the landing hurt. The bruises that were left all over him from Arceus knows what had happened to the ghost type that had bound its destiny with him. Jak moved a little bit, and looked towards the bird in the center of the room. He wasn’t too far, but he couldn’t move far either. He was just close enough to use his tail flame to help warm the bird up. Having no energy to use a move to help the bird, he was going to have to use his tail regardless.

What Jak was worried about next though, was what they were going to do about their situation. It was pretty obvious that they were going to have to find a way to get Sova back… but how? He hasn’t really seen this kind of thing occur before with Sova. He only knew about S.S through what sova had taught him.

Varda was having the most wonderful of naps. Maybe. He wasn't entirely sure if he was conscious or unconscious… But if he was worrying about such a thing, maybe he was conscious? He didn't know though, he would have to ask someone else later. Still, the bird didn't want to move – if he could move. He wasn't entirely sure about that either, though maybe he should also ask about that when he had the chance. When he could open his eyes. But he really didn't want to, because it was so nice. So warm, so peaceful…

Though it was getting a bit too warm – and cold, at the same time. He didn't quite understand it. Maybe he could have learned to like the warmth, as he did grow to quite enjoy it as time went on… But the shudders! His body shuddered from the cold, the most perplexing paradox the Altaria had come across in a while. The ice that had formed on his beak seemed to be melting, cold droplets of water sliding down. His feathers felt cold and a bit wet, too.

Varda finally opened his eyes, just just a little. His eyelashes had seemed to have frozen together, pulling at each other and creating an odd sensation. Luckily, it wasn't very bright, but after the darkness of his eyelids… Well, it felt like everything was oddly light, forcing him to squint a little. It took him another moment to actually start seeing the shapes as something other than blurry blobs, though he did raise his head carefully. There was snow everywhere. And there also was fire right next to him, the heat probably what had woken him up.

And the flame was on Jak's tail. The Altaria blinked, looking at the tail and then at the lizard-like Pokémon – who currently had his back turned against him, so all he saw was the reddish orange back of Jak's head."Your tail is on fire. Should I put it out…?" The bird chirped weakly.

S.S. merely stared, his smile fading from immediate boredom. Why was he still here? Why hadn't he snapped back? Had Sova really been hurt that badly? He began mentally sorting through recent shared memories with his weaker counterpart in an attempt to go through all the injuries he'd taken. There were a lot. A fairly bad set of scratches to the face, a dislocated and relocated paw, burns from being engulfed in fire.... twice. Well, the fire brought him out both times, so he already knew about that part. He couldn't help but find it a bit funny how pathetic Sova was to pass out from shock so easily. It wasn't like he'd reached his limit or anything; he just couldn't take the pain.

Well, that was where he came in. He could suppress their body's pain reflex, and he could force adrenaline to flow to give him all the energy he needed. However, he never had to stick around to deal with the negative side-effects from doing this.... Literally, he'd never had to deal with this. His vision was beginning to blur and he was feeling lightheaded. Well, it seemed he was in charge of watching their body for now.... so he had to make sure he didn't pass out. He sat down, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.... then exhaled.... then he heard the bird speak.

Putting out the tail flame? Oh, what a good idea. He opened his eyes up and looked at the bird, then responded. "How thoughtful. Just make sure to blow hard."He was curious to see if the bird would actually do it. Of course, if this turned out to be the case, he couldn't let it happen, as he couldn't simply allow one of Sova's precious friends to die, especially in such an.... ironic way. Besides, he would be so very jealous if Varda got to kill Jak.

He hoped the altaria would be able to stand and carry a bit of extra weight, as he didn't fancy carrying a Fire-type any more than he had to. Besides, he wanted to avoid straining himself for the time-being; his lightheadness was already going away and he was hoping to have his energy back by the time they wound the music box up. If his shared memories were correct, there was a significant possibility he was about to fight something that....

Jak 19

Others

Jak remained still as his tail warmed Varda up. Eventually, the bird began to stir. However, he was not able to face the bird at the time, and he wasn’t able to move either. When Varda asked if he should blow Jak’s tail out, he groaned. “Y-you can’t, I need it.” he grumbled in pain. Jak wasn’t sure what he was going to do next, but he certainly wasn’t capable of doing anything at this point. Whatever happened to the ghost that had bonded its destiny with him?

Varda turned to look at the voice that spoke to him, seeing a familiar face. Oh, it was Sova. That was good, it seemed like the whole group was still together! He had been a little out of it and had no idea what had happened on the other side of his snow blanket… And to be honest, he was still rather confused and his mind was slow…er than normal. Sova agreed that putting out the fire would be a good idea, though. Hopefully Jak wasn't in too much pain, as it sure seemed like it would hurt to have one's tail on fire! Varda didn't know if he could actually blow very hard, but maybe he could give it a try…

Until Jak told him not to, as he needed the fire. That was a bit odd in the Altaria's eyes, but he wasn't going to argue. Slowly, he turned to look at the lizard, blinking."Oh. Okay," he just agreed simply, lowering his neck and letting his chin rest on the floor again. Maybe he should take another nap...

Aw, no fun. The charmeleon had enough energy left to speak in protest to getting his little pilot light blown out. Well, S.S. hadn't planned to actually let someone he was supposed to keep alive be killed, but it was still disappointing to not be able to see how far the airheaded altaria would go. Well, if they weren't going to be any fun, then he wanted to get moving now. At the very least, he wanted to move onto the next room, maybe see if that froslass was still alive in there.

"I hope you can stand, cotton swab, because it's your job to carry him now," he stated in a demanding tone as he stared at the two with a bored expression.He needed to rest about as much as they did, but this hallway was not safe. From the previous times he'd been here.... or, mostly that Sova had been here, he knew after the very long passageway which varied in format, there was always a single room where nothing really happened. Nothing would attack them there, or at least that was how it seemed. And judging by how this seemed to be the end of the hallway, that meant the next room was the safe room.

He turned toward the door and began walking, assuming the others would follow. Either the bird would carry the lizard, or he would have to wait for them to recover, because he most certainly couldn't carry both of them. He was pretty sure he wasn't even going to be carrying an altaria alone. Technically, if Varda could walk but couldn't lift a charmeleon, he could carry Jak himself, but he really didn't like having to be helpful. He much preferred the thought of just going on ahead alone, but he would need to make sure these two didn't die. Plus.... if whatever was ahead was really worth worrying about, he'd need rest as well.

"Now come on, the next room's a safe zone. You'll follow me if you want to recover safely," he ordered.He wasn't entirely sure the room was safe, but he wasn't going to tell them that. They didn't have much choice but to trust him as long as he claimed to be telling the truth. And maybe with the promise of safety, at least one of them would move already.

Jak 19

Others

After the glaceon’s demand for Varda to carry him. Jak groaned as he decided to force himself up. As Jak struggled to move, his body seemed to waver as he fell back down. “grrr… th-this is annoying…” Jak grumbled in pain. He absolutely hated the fact that he was worthless in this situation, especially with S.S being the only one that is able to currently move, to his knowledge that is.

Jak attempted to get up once more. However, this time he didn’t move. He physically had no energy left to move. The fire type exhaled deeply as he laid still. “I’m sorry…” he said quietly in defeat.

Varda had already prepared for another nap, liking the idea of them all just relaxing together – like it was some kind of a sleepover! Oh, that was fun. He should ask if he could sleep in Sova's room one day. Or maybe Sova could sleep in his room at the Guild. His eyes closed as he smiled happily, thinking of all the fun they would have… Until he heard Sova's voice calling out. The bird opened his eyes lazily and raised his head slightly, taking a moment to figure out what had been said.

...Was Sova maybe talking to him? He was the one with what one might call cotton. But that was silly though, he wasn't made of cotton! They were just feathers. Sova was silly. Jak meanwhile had nothing that could have been made of cotton, so it had to be him! He just had no idea he had become a sailor, but that was fine. Being a sailor was fine!"Aye, captain!" The Altaria chirped, shifting on the ground.

He wasn't entirely sure how he would get up, though. It seemed like Jak was having similar problems. Varda could at least move his wing! One of them. On the side of the flame. He could also wiggle around like a snake, though he wasn't going anywhere. The biggest problem was his legs. They felt… Well, they didn't really feel like much. They were very cold – and the Altaria couldn't really find a way to move them."Um, my legs don't move though," Varda mentioned when Sova was already moving ahead.

Captain? S.S. decided not to question why he was being called captain. In fact, he wanted to just ignore the existence of the other two, but sadly, he couldn't do that if they weren't capable of taking care of themselves. He stopped and gritted his teeth, standing in silence for a moment, before taking a calming breath and turning around. He still looked about as bored as he was; he wasn't interested in hiding how he felt about this situation at all. These two were proving to be a pain, but he supposed at the very least, if he was stuck waiting for them to recover, he could put the box together. They were supposed to be making a music box, right?

He turned away from the two and calmly approached the sableye who'd passed out by this point, picking up the box casing with his mouth. He then made his way back to the others before abruptly dropping the casing on a little lump of snow. He didn't know how to put it together. He didn't want to figure it out. "Bag," he demanded, approaching the altaria and outstretching a paw."And how do I put this together?" he questioned.Maybe one of his half-dead.... comrades.... would know how to do this.

He wasn't expecting much from Varda here, but he decided to ask both of them anyway. This wasn't supposed to be his job, he wasn't supposed to be putting a box together, and he did NOT want to have to do it alone. If he had to deal with a boring puzzle such as this, then the other two would have to deal with it with him! Unless one of them actually knew how to put it together. Jak had been searching for pieces too and they'd been stolen, but maybe the charmeleon had figured out how they went together before losing them?

Jak 19

Others

Jak continued to lay motionlessly on the ground next to the altaria. He was still annoyed that he was in very bad shape, and just wanted to get moving. However, it would seem the bird wasn’t able to move yet either. This worried Jak a bit, as he wasn’t sure how S.S would react to their situation. The only thing that was apparent, was the distinct annoyance they brought to the Pokémon. Jak only knew that S.S wasn’t one to be nice, but it seemed he truly wasn’t going to upset Sova with its actions.

As Jak heard the glaceon move across some area in the room. The sound of an object being picked up off the ground caught his attention. As the object was placed back down, the small sound of snow being displaced from the weight of the object was somewhat audible. Immediately following a demand for a bag as the glaceon approached Varda. This left Jak wondering what it was doing.

After another moment, he heard the voice ask how they put something together, and from what Jak could think of… the glaceon was talking about the music box. “Each piece… fits inside the box... and will click together…” he stated slowly. The only thing Jak remembers when his was put together, was the fact all the pieces looked the same. When each piece was put into the box, they just had to be in the right order and they just snapped together on their own.

Varda heard the Glaceon's soft footsteps, the snow crunching gently under his paws. In some other situation, that probably would have been impossible to hear… But now the hall had grown eerily silent, making even such quiet sounds sound so loud and clear. And well, the bird had his ear against the ground, so maybe that help. But first the steps stopped completely, before heading in another direction… And then back. A soft thump was heard afterward from nearby as something was dropped on the snow.

And then, Sova approached the Altaria and asked for his bag! Varda blinked, raising his head and meeting the other Pokémon's gaze. He didn't really under– ooooh. Right. The bird wiggled and shifted in his place as he really had to work to flop over to his back to get access to his bag that was resting on his stomach. He used his beak to open it up, reaching into it… Ah. Right. His neck couldn't quite go far down enough like this to take something from it, and his feet he usually used… Well, they didn't move.

"Umm, you probably have to take them," the bird offered, looking at Sova with a smile on his face. He didn't really mind if others dug through his bag, at least! Luckily, he could help in some other way! Both him and Jak had been playing with the music box pieces, and while Jak seemed to be the only one who had built the whole thing… Well, maybe he could help a bit!

"Oh, you need to click the cylindrical thing into the thing with the slots and then add the rod-like part to the hole and… Oh, um, but some things don't fit together, so maybe something is missing," Varda chirped.

What. S.S. stared at the two as they explained how to put the box together, and surprise at Varda actually being able to offer insight wasn't even the half of his confusion. What the HELL was that bird talking about? He could only hope getting all the pieces laid out would make it a bit easier to understand. He put a paw under the altaria's wing and took the bag off the bird without a word. He set the bag in the snow and began to dig through it for the pieces with his front paw that wasn't injured. Grabbing things was difficult enough without an annoying bandage wrap getting in the way.

Then he remembered Varda had mentioned an issue with legs and moving. The bird's legs were either frozen or numbed from the cold, but either way, that definitely needed to be fixed. From the looks of it, Varda could move well enough other than that, so it seemed the legs in specific had been hurt, rather than major full-body damage. Well, there was only one way he could think of to quickly fix the bird-cicle, and that was to have the warming fire moved to the legs.

"Move your tail to his legs. And I don't care if you can't move, you'd better find a way to.... unless you'd prefer I move you again," he ordered to the charmeleon as he gathered the pieces of the music box.Well, on the bright side, having them all laid out made it easier to understand what Varda had been talking about. He assumed the missing piece was the box itself, which they now had, and so he just got to building. It wasn't an easy task with paws, but it didn't take too long with guidance from the others who'd worked with the pieces already. Everything fit together nicely enough, though the pieces didn't want to stay together. He figured maybe putting them in the box would make them stay together, but when he opened it to do so.... he saw something already inside it.

A screw. One that seemed perfect for keeping the rest of the pieces held together. It turned out the sableye had two pieces, presumably because it was trying to gather them and keep them away from anyone who tried to assemble the box. Regardless, he wasn't going to complain about this convenience. After a bit more struggling with the fact that he had paws, he finally got the screw in its rightful place, and sure enough, it held the rest of the pieces together. He closed the finished box and couldn't help but just stare at it, wondering what it could possibly play that was so important.

Jak 19

Others

Jak remained quiet as the two spoke. S.S didn’t speak too much, but rather seemed to make demands, and Varda was being all happy sounding about the request. It made Jak question the bird’s mental state about the situation they were in. Does Varda really have this impossibly non aggressive personality? Still remaining still where he was, he was curious as to when the ice type would force them to move. As the Pokémon seemed already pushy on getting a task done it seemed.

”Move your tail to his legs. And I don’t care if you can’t move, you’d better find a way to… unless you’d prefer I move you again.” the ice type demanded. Jak was well aware S.S was ordering him, especially since he was the only one with fire on ones tail. Jak grunted in annoyance as he shifted slightly. At first, he didn’t move his tail far enough, but after some more effort, he managed. “A-as requested… Your highness..” he said with slight amusement hidden deep in his thoughts. The pain in his voice was evident. He knew he was gonna regret that. However, he had already given up on getting out of the pain. He had to deal with it regardless now.

"Wow, is Sova royalty?" Varda chirped to the lizard with excitement in his voice thanks to a certain line. He had thought that the Glaceon was just a captain… But seemed like he might have been wrong! Oh how he had great friends, full of surprises. And there was something even better. When Jak moved the flame – that was on his tail, something that still concerned the bird a bit – closer to him, he could feel its warmth…

Though his legs didn't, even though they were closest to it. It took a while for any kind of feeling to return to them, tingling and tickling. It was a bothersome feeling, something the Altaria wanted to scratch… But he couldn't. It was a feeling that was under his skin, he couldn't reach there! He could, however, start moving his legs a little, trying to rub them against each other and wiggle his toes. It was awfully cold.

Varda had been distracted by the feelings in his legs, not having paid much attention to what was happening around him. Once he realized that, he raised his neck a little so he could take a better look, his eyes settling on Sova. The Glaceon had been working with the music box, and… It seemed like it had been fixed! At least now it looked more boxy rather than, well, like a pile of parts. The bird's eyes sparkled.